The present invention relates to a massage chair. More specifically, the present invention relates to a massage chair that can detect a position on a patient with which a therapeutic finger is in contact.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a massage device 10 allows a patient to receive a massage from the neck to the shoulder, back, and hips. The massage device 10 includes a chair 11 having a backrest 13. A massage unit 30 in the backrest 13 can be raised and lowered. The present invention relates to the massage device 10. With the exception of the massage unit 30, the massage device 10 is the same as conventional technology.
The massage unit 30 is attached by rollers 31,31 to guide rails 18 disposed in the backrest 13. A motor 21 rotates a threaded shaft 22 to move the massage unit 30 up and down in the backrest 13.
Left and right pivot arms 43, 43 project from the massage unit 30. The pivot arms can move three-dimensionally, i.e., left and right, up and down, and forward and back. Therapeutic arms 42, 42 are pivotably supported at the ends of the pivot arms 43, 43. Upper and lower massage balls 41, 41 are disposed at the free ends of the therapeutic arms 42, 42. Each therapeutic arm 42 is biased by a spring 82 so that its upper massage ball 41 projects forward.
In the massage device 10 described above, the pivot arms 43, 43 are driven, and the massage unit 30 is raised and lowered while the left and right massage balls 41 are brought together and apart. This provides a rolling massage for the entire upper body of the patient from the shoulders to the back to the hips. Alternatively, the massage unit 30 can be raised and lowered or stopped at a position desired by the patient to provide a localized massage. Also, some massage devices provide automatic programmed massages that combine these two types of massages.
When performing rolling massage of the upper body, the massage unit 30 moves back and forth between the shoulder and the hips of the patient. This requires the shoulder position of the patient to be detected.
Also, to provide a localized massage by moving the massage unit 30 to a position desired by the patient, e.g., shoulders, back, hips, it is necessary to detect the height of the patient""s shoulders, back, or hips.
The positions of shoulders, backs, and hips vary from patient to patient. Also, the positions can change even in the same patient depending on the posture in the chair. Thus, if the position of the patient""s shoulders or the like is not accurately detected, a position different from the desired position will be massaged. This can lead to reduced effectiveness in the massage as well as to discomfort.
Thus, a massage device is available that allows the shoulder position to be set up manually by the patient. However, setting up the shoulder position manually is inconvenient. Also, as described above, the shoulder height can vary depending on posture. Thus, settings must be made both when a different patient sits down as well as when the same patient sits down at a different time, or when a patient changes his or her posture. This is very inconvenient.
Japanese laid-open patent publication number 6-190012 A61H7/00 discloses a massage device that automatically performs shoulder position detection. In this massage device, pressure detecting means not shown in the figures are provided on the massage balls or arms. When the massage unit is at the upper section of the backrest 13, i.e., when the massage balls 41 are out of contact with the patient, pressure detecting means are roughly in an unloaded state. When the massage unit 30 is lowered and the massage balls 41 come into contact with the shoulders of the patient, a load is applied to the massage balls 41.
Prior to the massage operation, the massage unit 30 is lowered from the uppermost position of the backrest 13 and the load on the massage balls 41 is detected to determine the shoulder position.
In this massage device, once the shoulder position is detected, the back and hip positions are determined based on the shoulder position and the distance from the seat 12, which serves as a reference position. In other words, detection of back and hip positions requires that the shoulder position be detected first. It is possible for the patient to use the massage device while sitting on a cushion or the like. In such cases, the height of the seat 12, which serves as a reference position, changes, but there is no mechanism to detect this. Thus, even if the shoulder position can be determined, the back and hip positions cannot be determined accurately.
Furthermore, if the patient changes posture or shifts in the chair, the massage position must be redetected, but this requires raising the massage unit and re-detecting the shoulder position. Thus, real-time detection of massage positions is not possible, particularly for localized rolling massages on the hips and back.
Also, the disclosed massage device detects shoulder position using pressure detecting means. This detection requires that the massage unit first be raised while maintaining a fixed amount of protrusion for the massage balls 41. During the detection operation, the patient must remain seated without moving.
The object of the present invention is to provide a massage device that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a massage device that can perform massaging based on the body of the patient by determining massage positions on the patient not only for the shoulder position but also for the positions of the back and hips.
The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate the same elements.